When you think of wellness travel, where is the first place that springs to mind?

Perhaps it is Tahiti’s Bora Bora in the Indian Ocean? Or how about an exclusive Thai retreat, or spa on a deserted Balinese beach?

Las Vegas? A Nevadan city situated on the edge of Death Valley? Not so much.

But you’d be wrong to write off this tourism industry stalwart too quickly.

Over the past few years the city has ridden the wave of wellness travel – a sector now worth between a few billion US dollars and several trillion (depending on who you believe) – to diversify its offering.

Formerly a city solely dedicated to vice, Las Vegas now offers visitors a chance to recover from their sins and begin again.

During a flying visit in winter this year I was able to sample some of the new highlights.

From our base at the Park MGM Las Vegas, we were perfectly placed to explore the whole of the famous strip – beginning with the hotel room itself!

Part of the Stay Well project, developed with alternative medicine guru, Deepak Chopra, the room aims to ‘bring health’ to your stay.

Each comes equipped with features that minimise the impact that travel has on your body and features a shower head infused with Vitamin C (apparently to neutralise chlorine and promote healthy hair and skin), the latest air purification system to reduce allergens and an energy light therapy bathroom mirror designed to help with jet-lag.

Also on offer is automatically adjustable room lighting to improve the body’s internal clock and an all-natural mattress made without harmful toxic chemicals.

All in all, this was the perfect setting to relax and recharge after an 11-hour flight direct from London.

Closing the curtails I was able to grab a few hours sleep before we began our tour of the latest attractions on offer.

Take a tour through the treasure of the Aria Las Vegas

Next door to the Park MGM, reachable through a warren like maze of indoor tunnels, is Aria – one of the hippest properties on the Las Vegas Strip.
Here the Aria Hike offers a chance to burn off a few calories.

A 60-minute indoor jaunt around the property, the activity doubles as an art tour.

But do not be fooled into thinking this is an easy stroll glancing at a few painting, just because it is indoors.

A certified fitness instructor will have you climbing steps and doing lunges, planks and squats, and you will break a sweat after a few minutes no matter what your fitness level.

My advice is to take the trainer up on the offer of a towel before you begin.

During my experience, which covered nearly 5,000 steps over three miles, and saw me climb 26 flights of stairs, I burnt around 1,000 calories.

This was made slightly easier by the art tour, showcasing the US$40 million collection dotted around the hotel.

We are told by our enthusiastic guide that the activity is extremely popular among newlywed couples looking to work off that post-Vegas wedding pot belly.

SoulCycle is growing from its New York base to take its brand around the world

For a more intimate experience, head down to SoulCycle at the Wynn for an upbeat, high-intensity cycling class that will lift your spirits as well as your glutes.

A cardio-led workout incorporating muscle sculpting and strength training elements, the activity sees us pedal our way to personal best times while listening to a carefully selected playlist of modern and classic hits in a candlelit studio.

Certainly a novel experience for me, at least.

SoulCycle is much more than your bog-standard cycling class and the brand also has international ambitions, having just announced plans to a number of properties in London this year.

Take in views over Las Vegas with a yoga experience in the High Roller

But if, like me, you prefer a workout with a view, then Las Vegas offers an unparalleled yoga experience.

Towering at 550 feet over the Strip below, the High Roller observation wheel is host to a one-of-a-kind yoga class run by Silent Savasana.

Branding itself as a yoga movement offering a memorable, playful and inspiring version of the activity that infuses practice, community and music into each event, the concept was developed by Dray Gardner four years ago.

Equipped with headsets transmitting the instructor’s voice, alongside music from a curated live DJ set, you are treated to an amazing birds-eye view of the Las Vegas skyline as you perform your sun salutations.

The glass pod fits six, plus the instructor, allowing plenty of space for even the most elaborate poses.

There is plenty of time during the class to stop and enjoy the scenery, or to simply relax during a second rotation.

Witnessing the last rays of sunshine illuminate the Spring Mountains in the distance makes for an unforgettable sight.

Las Vegas Convention Centre is currently undergoing a renovation and expansion

All these new attractions have been paying dividends for the tourism market in the Las Vegas.

Last year the city welcomed over 42 million visitors, with 16.5 per cent of those arriving from the UK, the largest overseas market.

Indeed, the move to wellness has been part of a wider trend, as the city seeks to rebrand away from a gambling-led destination into one more concerned with business travel, in particular the MICE market.

For this reason, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority board recently took steps to begin construction on the Las Vegas Convention Centre’s latest expansion.

As Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority chief executive, Steve Hill, told Breaking Travel News: “We are really excited to be adding about 35 per cent more space to the nearly two million square feet of exhibition space that we have now.

“We broke ground on our expansion about last year and it will be open by the end of 2020.

“We will have about 60,000 square metres of exhibition space, about 50,000 square metres of meeting space in a beautiful facility.

“Once that is done, we will go back to the space that we currently have and do a real renovation of that space to bring it up to the same standards.

“By the end of 2023 we will have over three million square feet of exhibition and meeting space combined in a what will be a beautiful new facility and a great Vegas experience for our MICE guests.”

Best Friend has been a revelation on the Las Vegas culinary scene

Meanwhile, back at Park MGM, the final stop on our tour took us to Best Friend, a Korean BBQ joint run by Roy Choi, creator of the gourmet Korean taco truck, Kogi.

Here we are treated to a feast of Korean classics with a Mexican twist.

Kimchi Bibimbap (or Bibimboombap as it is known here) is a wonderfully fragrant dish, with a spicy kick, while the spicy pork shoulder in gochujang will make you want to order seconds as soon as it reaches the table.

We followed this with a whole grilled sole with garlic ponzu and veggies, which was again superb, all complimented by the many varieties of Banchan and washed down with a side of plum Soju.

A wonderful way to undo some of the hard work from earlier in the day!

More Information

The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority is charged with marketing southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide, and also with operating the Las Vegas Convention Centre & Cashman Centre.

With nearly 150,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and more than 11 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide.

The UK serves as the largest source of overseas non-stop flights into Las Vegas with as many as 30 weekly flights from London, Manchester and Glasgow on Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Thomas Cook and Norwegian Air.

Las Vegas is considered World’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination by voters at the World Travel Awards.

Find out more on the official website.

Maria Korelina

Source: Breaking Travel News

The following is based on an opinion piece delivered as a keynote by Peter Baumgartner, chief strategic adviser at Etihad Airways, during the European Aviation Symposium in Munich…

In everyday life, there is nothing unusual about the idea that by working together, everyone wins.

We teach our kids how to cooperate with others.

Later in life, cooperation is seen as an essential interpersonal skill.

In fact, it seems as if certain forms of cooperation have actually evolved naturally, and – even though I’m surely no expert on this – not just in humans.

Yet, curiously, this often changes very quickly in a business environment.

For “competitive” businesses, cooperation doesn’t always have the best of reputations.

The idea of “partnership” is, if at all allowed, reduced to its simplest form.

I would argue that this is a mistake, particularly in increasingly complex environments.

I firmly believe that creative, novel forms of working together will be the key to success.

For this, our mindset and culture must change.

We must recognise that we live in a fast-paced and highly dynamic “new normal”.

This is obviously true not only for the aviation sector.

We all know that even simple, traditional partnerships can help create scale, and extend and enhance vertical integration.

Yet we also need to explore new, creative forms of working together, particularly in today’s world of technologically-driven innovation.

The ability to develop and manage an ecosystem of horizontal, vertical and complementary partnerships is crucial – for everyone.

We know partnerships work, but we need to think bigger

If you allow the peculiarly Swiss metaphor: at Etihad, we have learned from working with partners that you do not need to buy a cow if you want a glass of milk.

Through partnerships, we created win-win-wins for us, our partners and our customers.

And we have become the engine of the system, not just a cogwheel.

Staying with the airline industry for a moment, we also see the emergence of joint ventures as an effective cooperation model, i.e. the evolution of a pure codeshare partnership or alliance membership beyond its traditional boundaries.

Ultimately, and therefore I mention it, these new structures of cooperation have a common vector: the possibilities of digital transformation.

This transformation allows us – and others – to branch out up and down the value chain while the “super fluidity” of seamless integration increases the value exponentially.

Technology and the way we handle data changes everything. Some of the most forward-looking partnerships today are between companies that collaborate to develop digital architecture and data capability.

They all aim at leveraging the power of innovation ecosystems, by developing an API driven plug-and-play environment that makes the most of dozens and sometimes even hundreds of specialized technology vendors.

That’s a game changer right there.

Culture is king

At the core of the solution, I think, lies open-mindedness.

Our world has become so complex, so fast-paced, so prone to disruption – it’s safe to say that working together makes everyone stronger.

This is a mindset, a culture, that needs to spread within the entire organisation.

You can’t outsource it to a team.

We need to foster a culture that can handle unprecedented acceleration of change.

A culture that can handle decentralisation, and a culture that values the importance of the trust factor – with internal and external customers – especially in the digital age.

In other words, to deliver these initiatives at a high pace and with accuracy requires fundamental cultural change.

The transformation of how we work together – often driven by technology – happens at a breath-taking speed.

To navigate this environment towards success requires management teams and employees to be empowered and enabled to adapt, anticipate and act accordingly.

Of course, we will inevitably encounter obstacles and failures; we must learn to act according to the Silicon Valley motto of “fail quickly and pivot”, even in environments where we will never tolerate any mistakes in many areas.

Be prepared to fail, learn from your mistakes and change course.

This, too, is a new mindset for many businesses.

As they say, together is better

The world changes, we all know that.

Let’s embrace these challenges with an open mind.

Consider the many ways and opportunities that open up to all of us when we think of new ways of working together.

I have experienced at Etihad that “together is better”.

And I really do believe that this is also true for every other business that I have encountered.

This day and age more than ever.

More Information

Peter Baumgartner is the chief strategic adviser at Etihad Airways, itself considered the World’s Leading Airline – First Class by voters at the World Travel Awards.

Find out more about the airline here.

Source: Breaking Travel News

The following is based on an opinion piece delivered as a keynote by Peter Baumgartner, chief strategic adviser at Etihad Airways, during the European Aviation Symposium in Munich…

In everyday life, there is nothing unusual about the idea that by working together, everyone wins.

We teach our kids how to cooperate with others.

Later in life, cooperation is seen as an essential interpersonal skill.

In fact, it seems as if certain forms of cooperation have actually evolved naturally, and – even though I’m surely no expert on this – not just in humans.

Yet, curiously, this often changes very quickly in a business environment.

For “competitive” businesses, cooperation doesn’t always have the best of reputations.

The idea of “partnership” is, if at all allowed, reduced to its simplest form.

I would argue that this is a mistake, particularly in increasingly complex environments.

I firmly believe that creative, novel forms of working together will be the key to success.

For this, our mindset and culture must change.

We must recognise that we live in a fast-paced and highly dynamic “new normal”.

This is obviously true not only for the aviation sector.

We all know that even simple, traditional partnerships can help create scale, and extend and enhance vertical integration.

Yet we also need to explore new, creative forms of working together, particularly in today’s world of technologically-driven innovation.

The ability to develop and manage an ecosystem of horizontal, vertical and complementary partnerships is crucial – for everyone.

We know partnerships work, but we need to think bigger

If you allow the peculiarly Swiss metaphor: at Etihad, we have learned from working with partners that you do not need to buy a cow if you want a glass of milk.

Through partnerships, we created win-win-wins for us, our partners and our customers.

And we have become the engine of the system, not just a cogwheel.

Staying with the airline industry for a moment, we also see the emergence of joint ventures as an effective cooperation model, i.e. the evolution of a pure codeshare partnership or alliance membership beyond its traditional boundaries.

Ultimately, and therefore I mention it, these new structures of cooperation have a common vector: the possibilities of digital transformation.

This transformation allows us – and others – to branch out up and down the value chain while the “super fluidity” of seamless integration increases the value exponentially.

Technology and the way we handle data changes everything. Some of the most forward-looking partnerships today are between companies that collaborate to develop digital architecture and data capability.

They all aim at leveraging the power of innovation ecosystems, by developing an API driven plug-and-play environment that makes the most of dozens and sometimes even hundreds of specialized technology vendors.

That’s a game changer right there.

Culture is king

At the core of the solution, I think, lies open-mindedness.

Our world has become so complex, so fast-paced, so prone to disruption – it’s safe to say that working together makes everyone stronger.

This is a mindset, a culture, that needs to spread within the entire organisation.

You can’t outsource it to a team.

We need to foster a culture that can handle unprecedented acceleration of change.

A culture that can handle decentralisation, and a culture that values the importance of the trust factor – with internal and external customers – especially in the digital age.

In other words, to deliver these initiatives at a high pace and with accuracy requires fundamental cultural change.

The transformation of how we work together – often driven by technology – happens at a breath-taking speed.

To navigate this environment towards success requires management teams and employees to be empowered and enabled to adapt, anticipate and act accordingly.

Of course, we will inevitably encounter obstacles and failures; we must learn to act according to the Silicon Valley motto of “fail quickly and pivot”, even in environments where we will never tolerate any mistakes in many areas.

Be prepared to fail, learn from your mistakes and change course.

This, too, is a new mindset for many businesses.

As they say, together is better

The world changes, we all know that.

Let’s embrace these challenges with an open mind.

Consider the many ways and opportunities that open up to all of us when we think of new ways of working together.

I have experienced at Etihad that “together is better”.

And I really do believe that this is also true for every other business that I have encountered.

This day and age more than ever.

More Information

Peter Baumgartner is the chief strategic adviser at Etihad Airways, itself considered the World’s Leading Airline – First Class by voters at the World Travel Awards.

Find out more about the airline here.

Source: Breaking Travel News

Loco2 was launched in 2012 by a team of committed train travellers, led by brother and sister Jamie and Kate Andrews.

The company enables low-cost booking for train travel throughout the UK and Europe.

Loco2’s mission is to offer a low CO2 way to travel, at a low price, hence the name.

Here we find out more in conversation with Aurelie Butin, Loco2’s director of product and service.

Breaking Travel News: Can we begin with an overview of Loco2 – what do you bring to the travel market in Europe?

Aurelie Butin: Loco2 is a comparison and booking platform for train and bus tickets in the UK and Europe.

It is the only service of its kind to sells tickets without any booking fees via its website and its smartphone apps – available on App Store and Play Store.

Though new companies have sprung up that offer rail tickets within Europe, until very recently, Loco2 was the first and only search and booking platform to enable users to buy train tickets for domestic and international travel in and around the UK and Europe.

So, customers can book tickets from Bath to Barcelona or Glasgow to Genoa, all in one simple transaction.

A major hurdle in the rail industry is that train operators across Europe release their tickets at different times.

Some six months ahead, some just 60 days, so it can be a nightmare to create an itinerary with tickets from more than one operator.

That’s why we developed our booking alert functionality, which notifies customers as soon as booking opens.

Behind the scenes, it’s one of the most complicated parts of our software, but for customers, it’s a simple – and invaluable – tool to enable them to buy train tickets the moment they are released, often with great cost savings.

Now that we have successfully connected to most of the major rail and bus operators in Europe and heavily simplified the booking process for long-distance cross-country train travel, we are shifting our focus towards local travellers making frequent domestic trips.

This market is very often massively dominated by one historical player (whether it’s the rail operator themselves in continental Europe or third-party distributors such as Trainline in the UK).

We want to disrupt this market in the same way we disrupted long distance pan-European train travel.

We are currently working behind the scenes on a very exciting new product for the UK market that we hope will improve the prospect of train travel for many.

BTN: In which markets do you currently operate – and where will you be looking to expand in the coming months?

AB: We currently cover over 50 rail operators in 30 countries and 20,000 train stations.

Adding new rail operators is our bread and butter and we’ve got several in the pipeline.

In the last four months, we connected to BeNe, the rail operator in Benelux, giving us access to the Dutch railways through Belgium and the Netherlands.

However, we are still looking to increase our coverage of the Netherlands.

We have nearly finished an integration with Austrian Railways ÖBB, which we are due to launch next week.

This is exciting because this connection enables us to offer our customers seamless travel from those neighbouring countries we already serve well, particularly Italy and Germany. 

We are also working with Switzerland (CFF/SBB) and they now have an API to allow us to connect to our booking technology – this will be live later this year.

Currently, we’ve got new exciting projects in the pipeline to improve the customer experience.

From live data on our apps, to live chat customer support, we’re constantly building new features and functionality to help our users get more support and information at their fingertips.

The biggest project we are working on right now is the new infrastructure for our app via the VS desktop.

This new platform will be more effective and quicker. We are working on new designs and functionalities particularly addressing domestic train travellers.

Historically, Loco2 has been focusing on long-distance leisure customers who were booking a trip in Europe for their holiday.

Now we have some exciting new features to be launched soon in the UK market which will enable us to focus more on local travellers.

We want to reflect that in our product, so customers can either book their weekly trip to London in three quick taps or take their time to search, compare and book their longer travels across Europe.

BTN: Despite the efforts of the European Union, most recently with the fourth railway package, the rail sector remains divided along national lines. How far does Loco2 help to overcome the challenges this presents?

AB: Despite efforts for more competition and liberalisation around the rail industry in continental Europe, it’s still very much dominated by the historical national rail operators.

Those operators (SNCF in France, DB in Germany, Renfe in Spain, etc.) have been the only companies allowed to operate trains in their countries for years, and were the only ones distributing their tickets.

However, things are slowly changing, as new players in both the distribution and operational markets are emerging.

But it takes time to change consumer habits too – for customers it’s a risk to test out new platforms rather than to stick to the companies they know and have trusted for years.

When people in France have always bought their train tickets on the SNCF website, it’s difficult to tell them that there are now other places to buy these tickets.

I think there is a big opportunity here for non-operator’s distributors like us, as we can sell any products everywhere without bearing the name of a specific operator.

In the past, SNCF predominantly sold SNCF tickets.

For a French person wanting to book a train ticket in Spain for whatever reason, it’s a complicated process and it doesn’t make sense to buy a Renfe ticket on a website branded SNCF because not everyone knows that the rail operator in Spain is Renfe.

It’s a real hurdle to international train travel.

New distributors delete those borders by removing those hurdles; a person, no matter where they are in Europe, can buy a ticket anywhere without any issues.

They are familiar with the brand, they are used to the website, and they trust it.

They don’t have to try and book with a different brand every time they want to travel to a different country in Europe.

I think that, ultimately, it’s going to grow the market as more and more people will travel by train internationally.

In the same way Uber simplifies the lives of millions of people by enabling customer to order a taxi wherever they are in the world, third party rail distributors will do the same.

Booking a train anywhere, whether it’s in your country and you are very familiar with the system, or in a different country where it can seem very alien and confusing, everything is easy for the customer as we have done the hard work for them. 

BTN: Loco2 has spoken in the past about the advantages of ‘slow travel,’ allowing guests to soak up the environment and take time to appreciate their surroundings. Does rail travel play a role in this?

AB: Slow travel is about making conscious choices and connecting to a place and its culture.

Gone are the hectic holiday tours where you cram in as many activities as possible – more temples, more museums, more galleries.

Instead, people are taking the time to relax and enjoy their holiday by immersing themselves in the local culture, for example buying food from the market and cooking it rather than eating at a restaurant.

Slow travel is a state of mind which is being adopted by the masses.

And a good way to start the experience is by taking the train to your destination.

Trains are the most comfortable and relaxing form of long-distance travel.

Whether you are seeking spectacular scenery, luxurious carriages, heritage steam trains or epic long-distance journeys, perhaps aboard a sleeper, there is no better perspective on the world than from a railway carriage.

The rail journey itself becomes a time to relax rather than a stressful interlude from home to the destination.

BTN: How far does rail travel contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the tourism sector?

AB: When it comes to sustainable travel, going by train is much greener than flying.

Not only is fuel used more efficiently, but electric trains can run on green electricity, reducing CO2 emissions even more.

Celebrating low carbon travel is at the heart of what we do, and even our name Loco2 is a nod to the fact that trains are ‘low CO2’ compared with planes.

Taking the train can cut your carbon emissions by up to 90 per cent.

According to research, a return journey by plane from London to Paris produces 244 kilogrammes of CO2 per passenger.

The equivalent journey by train produces only 22 kilogrammes of CO2 per passenger. 

Furthermore, our study revealed that 43 per cent of people in the UK who regularly travel by train would like to know how each train is being powered, to enable them to make a more environmentally-conscious decision about which one to travel on.

We’ve created a petition to request that UK train operators be more transparent about what fuel is powering their trains.

Hydrogen trains, although more expensive to buy, are cheaper to run as well as being quieter than diesel trains and their carbon footprint is far smaller than diesel or electric trains.

The UK transport secretary Chris Grayling believes trains powered by hydrogen could be a reality in the ‘early 2020s’ – something we look forward to seeing. 

More Information

Find out more about Loco2 on the official website.

Source: Breaking Travel News

The Travel Corporation and its family of 29 award-winning brands has revealed it annual #TTCTop10 bucket list of travel experiences for 2019.

The family-owned organisation, now in its fourth-generation, offers something for everyone, with over 1,000 trips to 70 countries across seven continents.

This year’s carefully curated list reflects the emerging travel trends of 2019 and focuses on what travellers are seeking out most: transformational journeys, culturally immersive experiences and socially conscious travel.

“Our guests’ desire for personal fulfilment through transformative travel continues to grow and, for 2019, we are further enhancing experiential travel and creating truly meaningful experiences for their travel wish lists,” said the Travel Corporation chief executive, Brett Tollman.

“This year’s #TTCTop10 list features an inspiring selection of our life-changing journeys, as guest satisfaction and making travel matter through our TreadRight Foundation’s sustainable tourism and local community-based projects across the globe, remain top of mind for TTC.”

Take a look at the top ten below:

Trafalgar – African Safari Adventure
Adventurers will discover the stunning destination of the Maasai Mara and Serengeti on Trafalgar’s memorable 14-day African Safari Adventure that will take them across a diverse range of landscapes and to see where thousands of wildebeest make their annual migration. Guests will explore the vast wilderness of Kenya and Tanzania, navigate lakes in search of resting hippos, and sample the spicy flavours of Swahili cuisine.

Contiki – Pure Sri Lanka
Millennials and Generation Z travellers will explore Contiki’s newest hot spot, Sri Lanka from ancient temples to tea fields on the Pure Sri Lanka itinerary. This ten-day adventure will enable them to traverse this island nation, from scintillating beaches to national parks to the world-renowned tea regions. During their journey at Udawalawe National Park, they will enjoy a Special Stay safari riverside glamping and a visit to an elephant transit home where orphaned baby elephants are cared for before being released back into the wild.

Insight Vacations – Israel & Jordan
History lovers will journey back in time and discover the iconic spiritual sites and hidden gems across Israel and Jordan on Insight Vacations’ 14-day Israel & Jordan premium escorted journey. In Israel, guests will explore the ancient cities of Nazareth, Galilee and Jerusalem and the famous saline waters of the Dead Sea. Onwards to Jordan, travellers will visit the famous archaeological site of Petra and dine under the stars in Wadi Rum at a Bedouin camp site. They will also enjoy meeting local artisans at the Iraq Al-Amir Women’s Cooperative, which is managed and run by local women, providing training projects. This cooperative is a People Project supported by the TreadRight Foundation to help build-out their gift shop and expand their food offerings.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises – Magnificent Moselle and Rhine

Uniworld’s Magnificent Moselle & Rhine takes travellers on a ten-day luxury river cruise along some of Europe’s most picturesque village-dotted landscapes, from Cologne to Frankfurt, on the award-winning River Queen with its elegant Art Deco interior design. They will savour the finest regional cuisine incorporating the freshest and locally sourced ingredients while sampling local wines expertly curated by Uniworld’s team of Sommeliers.

Costsaver – Vietnam & Cambodia Adventure

Costsaver’s exciting 14-day Vietnam & Cambodia “flexitouring” adventure highlights Vietnam’s vibrant culture and stunning landscapes and Cambodia’s ancient temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom with compelling insights into Khmer history. Travellers will embark on cruise in Halong Bay including a cooking demonstration on board and meet the locals at a Vung Vieng fishing village. On Nah Trang’s Mun Island they will enjoy snorkelling in the azure waters to view coral reefs and swim with sea turtles.

Luxury Gold – Elegance of Egypt

Archaeology lovers will be enthralled by the spectacular sites encountered on Elegance of Egypt, Luxury Gold’s seven-day luxury escorted journey. They will begin their adventure with sightseeing in Cairo accompanied by their Travelling Concierge as well as an Egyptologist and later explore the Great Pyramids and the mysterious Sphinx of Giza. The journey continues with a luxurious river cruise on Uniworld’s intimate all-suite River Tosca with stylishly adorned rooms. Guests will enjoy Exceptional Dining Experiences including an onboard welcome reception and gala dinner with exquisite regionally inspired cuisine. They will also follow in the footsteps of Agatha Christie and Winston Churchill by indulging in a colonial English-style high tea at Aswan’s Old Cataract Hotel’s terraces.

Red Carnation Hotels – Hotel 41

With a prestigious Forbes Five Star Rating, the luxurious boutique Hotel 41 is a stunning hidden gem overlooking the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace. A chic black and white design creates a striking theme throughout, including the renowned Executive Lounge where guests are invited to “plunder the pantry.”

U by Uniworld – Germany’s Finest

U is a new take on experiential travel, with cruises designed for travellers with a wanderlust for exploring and a yearning for exhilarating adventures which are tailored to their interests. This authentic eight-day journey begins in effortlessly cool Frankfurt with a night walk with their U hosts, including stops to Würzburg and Bamberg. Guests can join a Bavarian bike trip along Miltenberg’s lakes and nature reserves or a castle hike, or they can join a Nuremberg culinary tour including a cooking school experience where they will learn to make Bratwurst.

Busabout – Wild West & City Lights

The USA is a whole new destination from Busabout for 2019 and on its Wild West & City Lights itinerary, adventure seekers will embark on an epic 14-day adventure where they will be fully immersed in the colourful subcultures across the States as they drive along the famous Route 66 with stops to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Monument Valley and Austin. From the breath-taking Grand Canyon and the magical beauty of Sante Fe to the exuberant jazz, and rhythm and blues joints of New Orleans, this memorable road trip showcases the best of America.

Inspiring Journeys – Inspiring Australia

Nature lovers will enjoy exploring the Blue Mountains, a sunset toast at iconic Uluru, the mystical domes of Kata Tjuta and snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef on Inspiring Journeys’ Inspiring Australia. This 13-day journey will delight guests’ senses as they hike to the top of Kings Canyon, sail a yacht on Sydney Harbour and enjoy an Indigenous experience in the Daintree Rainforest.

Source: Breaking Travel News